A force

A force
Aribella POV

The feast was nothing short of extravagant. Johnston was trying to earn these men’s respect through their stomach, and from the conversations around me; It was working.
Even during my time at Rhory’s side, I’d never seen such a massive spread of food.
“I just don’t understand,” Peyton whispered as I piled my plate with various foods. “Why didn’t he just send you home?”
“Because he wants me dead, Pey,” I finally stopped, holding up the line. “I know too much about what goes on here, and it’s easier for him to wash his hands of me this way than to just kill me.”
Peyton’s lips parted in shock, “What do you know that he’s so worried will get out?”
There were too many people around for this conversation.
I turned towards him, my face pleading with him to just drop it, and thankfully, he did. I continued down the line until…. Fucking cream puffs.
Glancing around, I searched for Rhory, Mael, or Emrys. All three men could have been the reason these were here, but for different reasons. Rhory to taunt me. Mael to remind me that he was always watching, or Emrys, who seemingly wasn’t the only traitor in this entire castle.
After piling up my plate, we took a seat towards the end of a long table away from the other new members.
The silence didn’t last long.
“What’s a delicate little thing like you doing here?” a burly man with cropped hair dropped into the seat beside me. Then another man across from me, “Are you a gift for us single men?”
“Fuck off,” I picked up one of the cream puffs, and it was just as delicious as I remembered. A quiet moan bubbled from my throat. I haven’t had a decent meal in a week. Cold sandwiches and fruit were all that had been delivered to my room as I waited to find out my fate.
“Is that how a real lady speaks?” the man reached out, grabbing my chin, and forcing my face towards him. For a moment, I froze. His fingers curling around my chin had flashes of Stephan’s face flooding my mind.
But I wasn’t Charlotte, and I sure as hell wasn’t about to let another man put his hands on me.
I wrenched out of his grip, my chair falling backwards, and reared back my fist. His nose gushed blood immediately, and his face grew hot with embarrassment, “You’ll pay for that, bitch.”
“Touch me again, and your nose won’t be the only thing you have to worry about.”
“What’s going on here?” A masked guard member walked over.
“This bitch just punched me in the face,” the man sounded nasally as he tried to pinch his nose to stem the bleeding.
“There will be no violence tolerated within the barracks,” the masked man muttered. “You’ll be taken to the commander to decide your punishment.”
“Wait,” Peyton stood up, looking between the three of us. “He put his hands on her first.”
“She looks fine to me,” the masked guard member grabbed my wrists, leading me away from the table. I could feel dozens of eyes burning against my skin, but I clenched my teeth, holding my head up high.
Kaelar was standing off to the side, speaking with another guard member when I was pushed towards his feet, forced to kneel before him.
“What’s going on here?” I could see the tension coiled in Kaelar’s body at seeing me pushed around, and by his own men.
“Number 666 is being violent to the other members,” the man spoke without an ounce of emotion.
“Is this true?” those golden eyes that I loved so much softened, and I knew he was grinning beneath the mask.
“Yes.”
“What is your reasoning?”
“They suggested I was simply here to be passed around amongst the single men, and then that pathetic excuse for a man grabbed my chin, so I punched him in the face.”
“Please stand, 666,” Kaelar didn’t wait for me to rise before moving to stand before his subordinate.
His arm moved like lightning, gripping the man’s suit jacket, and ripping him up from the ground, “The next time you drag a woman in here and toss her at my feet will be the last. Your job is to ensure that chaos does not ensue throughout the new recruits, and that includes not allowing disrespect towards any member. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, commander.”
“You owe 666 an apology,” Kaelar dropped the man back onto his feet.
He bowed, “I apologize for my actions, 666. It will not happen again.”
“Are you okay?” Kaelar turned towards me.
“Yes,” I nodded, fighting my satisfaction. “Just looking forward to getting back to my food while it’s warm.”
“You are dismissed. I will make an announcement shortly regarding expectations for behavior. You have my sincerest apologies, 666.”
“Thank you, commander Itsuki,” I bowed politely, being escorted back to my seat.
Peyton’s eyes were wide, “What happened?”
“Nothing,” I grinned. “Nothing at all.”
I smiled, enjoying the fuck out of my cream puffs.
I didn’t care that everyone was scrutinizing me. I didn’t care about the whispers or the feeling of disgust that I was a woman.
They were going to find out real fast that I was a force to be reckoned with.